What Should Not Have Been Forgotten
by Tyrablaze
Summary: I really don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this. But please read it. Sometimes in the journey of the competition, we forget what Marching Band is. We forget the dreams and fun. We forget what should not have been forgotten.


What Should Not Have Been Forgotten  
  
  
  
Marching Band comes, Marching Band goes. Trophies come, trophies go. Every show, every game, and every hour you spend on that bus waiting and singing you remember. You remember your friends, you remember your enemies. You remember the good food, you remember the bad food. You remember everything and yet, it seems like you have forgotten.  
  
Think back to the very first day of band camp. Think back to the very first day, when you, a freshman opened the door to the band room, the day when you took the first step into a journey that changed your life.  
  
Remember what it was like to enter the band room, knowing maybe only a few people, seeing all the groups of people laughing and talking about old times. Remember the awed expression you had on your face when you saw the trophies and other awards along the walls. Remember what they looked like. Remember the familiar look and smell of the room.  
  
That room became your home.  
  
Remember when the band director began to introduce him or her and the rest of the staff. Remember the jokes they made, the stories they told about themselves. Remember their faces, what they were wearing, what they had with them.  
  
Those people became your new fathers and mothers.  
  
Remember when the band director introduced the drum majors? When they explained who they were? Do you remember the proud expressions the drum majors had on their faces?  
  
The drum majors became your aunts and uncles.  
  
Do you remember the people around you? Those you knew and those you didn't? The trumpet players with their arrogant aura, the flutes that never stopped talking, the perverted trombone and saxophone players, the sugar high clarinets, the grumbling drummers, and everyone else in that room?  
  
They became your brothers and sisters.  
  
They became your shoulder to cry on.  
  
They became your source of humor.  
  
Your buddy that you shared a room with.  
  
Your friend that gave you extra money for lunch.  
  
Your mentor that showed you how to get to where you were going.  
  
Do you remember those people? The room?  
  
And the field?  
  
Do you remember the grass? The lines? The area where hundreds before you marched as one person? As one team? As one dream? Do you remember the field that became your backyard?  
  
And the stadium? Do you remember that place? Where dreams were lifted and hopes shattered? Where friends were made and good times were shared? Where you all screamed and jumped up and down when you won and kept a stiff upper lip knowing you'd cry later on the bus? Do you remember saying good luck to the band that was about to enter? Do you remember the people in the stands cheering when you entered the field?  
  
Do you remember the trophy? Do you remember seeing it and instantly you KNEW you had do give 100%? That your band HAD to win that trophy? Do you remember the excitement and glee you felt when the judge announced that your band had won that trophy? Or the sadness when you were only one spot away from winning it?  
  
You remember the people, the rooms, the places you went to, the backyard you played in, the neighborhood you were in.  
  
But do you remember the dream?  
  
Do you remember when the band director motivated you before the competitions? When he encouraged you? Do you remember the drum major wishing everyone a good luck before you all went to your spots? Do you remember how in your heart you knew you'd have fun no matter what?  
  
Do you remember?  
  
It's a common fact between all bands, east to west, north to south. You get so wrapped up in winning you forget.  
  
You forget the dream. You forget the fun times.  
  
You forget what should not have been forgotten.  
  
Please, look back and remember. Forget the wins and losses, the trophies, the disappointment. Remember your family cheering you on, remember the good times, remember the hugs you got from your aunts and uncles, remember the laughs you had with your brothers and sisters.  
  
And remember the dream you all had.  
  
And the fun.  
  
What should not have been forgotten is the fun and dreams of Marching Band.  
  
Remember. And never forget.  
  
~Tyrablaze, January 25, 2002.  
  
Mountain View High School, clarinet 


End file.
